Montana has been hard hit by the E. coli outbreak linked to Costco Rotisserie Chicken Salad. Six of the 19 people who have been sickened are from Montana where health officials tested a celery and onion mix from Taylor Farms used to make the salad and discovered E. coli O157:H7, prompting a massive recall.

The recall covers 71 products including vegetable trays sold at Walmart and 7-Eleven; wraps and salads sold at Target; prepared salads sold at Costco; salad sold at King Soopers; salads and wraps sold at Pantry and Savemart; salad kits, veggie trays and salads at Safeway; Vons and Albertons; the Holiday Turkey Sandwich sold at Starbucks; and salad kits at Tonys.

E. coli O157:H7 produces serious illness. Symptoms of an infection include abdominal cramps, and diarrhea that can be profuse, watery or bloody. Montana health officials are urging anyone who ate the recalled products and developed symptoms to see a health care provider and mention exposure.

In this outbreak, five people have been hospitalized, two of them with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which causes kidney failure. HUS affects about 10 percent of people with E. coli infections. Symptoms, which usually appear on the eighth day of E.coli symptoms, include fever, abdominal pain, extreme fatigue, decreased frequency of urination, small unexplained bruises or bleeding from the nose and mouth, loss of color in cheeks and inside the lower eyelids. In addition to kidney failure, HUS can cause seizure, stroke, coma and death.

The case patients in this outbreak range in age from 5 years to 84, with a median age of 18. Fifty-seven percent of them are female.

Six other states have also been affected by the outbreak. By state, the case count is as follows: California (1), Colorado (4), Missouri (1), Montana (6), Utah (5), Virginia (1), and Washington (1).